The trial of five supporters of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on terrorism charges in Abuja was disrupted on Tuesday due to heightened security measures accompanying the movement of Biafra nation advocate, Nnamdi Kanu, to the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The trial was hindered because their lawyers couldn’t access the Court due to checkpoints manned by Department of State Service (DSS) operatives during Kanu’s trial on similar charges.
The five men facing terrorism charges, namely Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald, and Ochueja Thankgod, aimed to contest the validity of the terrorism charges against them and the court’s jurisdiction over the case.
Despite the prison officials managing to bring them to the courtroom, their lawyers couldn’t make it inside due to the heavy security presence.
Armed DSS operatives heavily guarded the roads leading to the court on Tuesday morning to prevent security breaches during Kanu’s appearance, leading to abrupt adjournments of several cases as litigants and lawyers were turned away.
Although the trial was scheduled for 12 noon, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon postponed it until 2 pm to allow the lawyers access. However, due to ongoing security measures during Kanu’s trial, Justice Olajuwon adjourned the trial at the request of the few lawyers who managed to enter, scheduling it for April 16, one day before Kanu’s trial resumes on similar charges.
Justice Olajuwon ordered the defendants to be returned to Kuje prison in Abuja to continue their remand. Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Simon Lough, representing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), was among those present in court.
The IGP filed terrorism charges against them on January 25 for allegedly invading, vandalizing, and burning down the Rivers State House of Assembly last year during political unrest in Port Harcourt in October. The charges allege that they killed a Superintendent of Police, SP, Bako Agbashim, and five police informants in Ahoada community, namely Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Victor Chibuogu, and Saturday Edi.
Additionally, they are accused of using various cult groups, including Supreme Viking Confraternity, Degbam, Iceland, and Greenland, to disrupt peace and commercial activities in the state. The defendants allegedly conspired to commit acts of terrorism by willfully destroying public property, specifically, the Rivers State House of Assembly, on October 29, 2023, according to the charges under section 26 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022.
Despite their denial of the charges, the defendants were remanded in Kuje Prison in Abuja due to the severity of the charges and their failure to secure bail from the court.